Another name for trachoma is Egyptian ophthalmia.
Trachoma is a contagious bacterial eye infection that gets it's named from the Greek word for "roughness" due to the bumpy appearance that trachoma creates inside of your eyelids.
Trachoma is caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and it leads to severe inflammation, scarring of your inner eyelid and even potential blindness.
Trachoma is also spread and transmitted through personal contact or even flies.
Other names for trachoma include granular conjunctivitis and even blinding granular conjunctivitis.
Trachoma used to exist throughout Europe as well as the United States, even into the 20th century.
Although improvements in living conditions in many parts of the world have thankfully wiped out trachoma, and so trachoma is not as widespread as it used to be, but still 97.1 million people are at risk for developing trachoma.
So while trachoma is less common than it used to be, trachoma still does exist.
Trachoma can also be cured and treated by using antibiotics for early infections of trachoma and surgery for any advanced eyelid damage.
The medical treatments for trachoma include antibiotics like oral azithromycin or tetracycline eye ointment to clear the bacterial infection of chlamydia trachomatis, especially when it's caught early enough.
And in some cases, simple eyelid surgery may be needed to fix turned in eyelashes, (trichiasis) to stop them from scratching and ruining your cornea.
For prevention and care of trachoma these things include facial cleanliness and environmental improvements.
Better access to improved sanitation and clean water also lower your risk of repeat infections of trachoma.
And washing faces and hands also stops the bacteria from spreading for trachoma through personal contact.